Occasionally, Outlook Express just asks for my username and password but will not let me get my mail.

Outlook should also pop up an error dialog box with a "Details" button. If you click the Details button and it says something about a "POP lock" then this FAQ applies to you. If the Details of the error say "Login Delay" then see this other FAQ instead.

The locked mailbox is usually due to 1) having multiple devices checking for mail in the same inbox, or 2) Outlook crashing, shutting down or breaking its connection to the mailserver unexpectedly.

In the first case, the solution is to shut down the mail program on one of the devices. In the second case, the solution is to restart Outlook and/or restart the computer.

If the problem persists, alternatives include:

a) Change Outlook settings from using POP3 to IMAP by setting up a new mail profile in Outlook.

b) Shut down Outlook and use webmail in OnSite when Outlook locks your mailbox. You may need to wait 5 or 10 minutes for the mailbox to unlock itself. You can read mail at https://my.modwest.com/mail/.